Ford Wants You To Sleep In Your Bronco

New patent images show Ford prepping serious overland and camping upgrades for the Bronco.

Photo by: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

By: Jeff Glucker

Sep 9, at 2:30pm ET

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Ford has filed a handful of patents aimed at making the Bronco more appealing to overlanders.
The potential upgrades include in-car camping platforms, heated sleeping pads, rooftop tent options, and even nightstands.
Many of the items shown already exist in the aftermarket, but integration into the Bronco could be cleaner with factory-direct offerings.

Overlanding remains a hot-ticket segment for both automakers and the aftermarket community alike. You buy a ready-to-ramble rig, pick out some upgrades, and you're on your way to adventure. Simple as that.

Ford clearly wants a deeper slice of the pie. The Blue Oval recently applied for several patents aimed at making the Bronco a more robust overlanding rig. And it looks like it could be a good idea.

Ford Bronco Tent and Sleeping Patent Images

Photo by: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Ford Wants To Take The Bronco Camping

A lot of what Ford is attempting to patent already exists in the aftermarket, so I'm not entirely sure how much of this will make it to your local dealer. But the upgrades would certainly create a more robust camping platform out of the Bronco.

There's a great folding platform shown, which allows for simpler in-car camping. Even better is the idea of using the front-row seatbacks as flip-out nightstands. Ford also has ideas for multiple rooftop tent sizes, with the largest using stabilized legs that fit into the fender gunwales to provide support.

Access to the second-floor sleeping arrangements could be via the sunroof or a much larger, full-length roof opening. There's even an image showing a mesh covering for that larger opening, which would allow you to sleep under the stars while keeping bugs out.

Photo by: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Ford Could Bring Aftermarket Ideas In-House

As mentioned, a lot of these items are already available from an aftermarket supplier. But Ford could create cleaner integration of these parts while also offering some sort of warranty on them as well.

You could head to your dealer, pick out your Bronco, and be ready for a weekend off in the woods right off the showroom floor.

Source: U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Motor1's Take: Yes, this would clearly be a way to make a few more bucks off the Bronco. That said, these are all extremely useful upgrades for anyone who wants to use their vehicle as a camping platform.

What do you think?

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Comments

There are some great items that could arise from these patent filings, and the end result is a Bronco that's suddenly more attractive to the overlanding crowd. I wouldn't be surprised to find a true overland-specific trim about to arrive, as well.

Toyota has the TrailHunter. Ford is clearly preparing something similar.